'Net Features : giveawayshttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/tags/giveaways/default.aspxTags: giveawaysenCommunityServer 2008 SP2 (Build: 31104.93)What to Know About Amazon Giveawayhttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2015/02/11/5-things-to-know-about-amazon-giveaway.aspxWed, 11 Feb 2015 20:30:00 GMT1e469e21-c924-44fa-a132-47b5d0a8ad47:40919Administrator4http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=40919http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2015/02/11/5-things-to-know-about-amazon-giveaway.aspx#comments<p>By Allison Howen &amp; Derek Schou,&nbsp;<br />Website Magazine Associate Editors&nbsp;</p>
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<p><strong>Giveaways have risen as one of the most effective ways for businesses to stand out in social media&#39;s crowded newsfeeds, as well as foster consumer engagement with their brands.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amazon has taken notice, and is unveiling a new offering to help businesses create their very own giveaways. The self-service tool, dubbed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/giveaway/home" target="_blank">Amazon Giveaway</a>, enables anyone from authors and non-profits to brands and bloggers to leverage Amazon&rsquo;s tool for creating and hosting their own giveaway to generate awareness for their brand and reward their audiences.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The idea of running giveaway promotions is easy,&quot; said Steve Shure, vice president consumer marketing at Amazon. &quot;They are a really effective way to attract attention and build engagement, but giveaways often come with hidden costs and complexities which makes the reality of running one hard. Amazon Giveaway is the first self-service tool that takes care of all the hard work of a giveaway, from setting up all of the rules to shipping prizes directly to winners.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Although the tool is pretty straight-forward to use, it is important for businesses to know all the facts before running their first promotion. Discover all you need to know about this handy new tool by checking out five Amazon Giveaway facts below:</p>
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<h2>1. Getting Started</h2>
<p>Those who would like to become a giveaway host must first select a prize, which can be done on Amazon.com.</p>
<p>Users simply need to find an eligible product, which will display a &ldquo;Setup an Amazon Giveaway&rdquo; section near the bottom of the product detail page. From there, users can set up the giveaway details and include custom content for their promotion.</p>
<p><img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/Amazongiveawaydesign.png" width="630" height="500" alt="" /></p>
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<h2>2. The Giveaway Models</h2>
<p>Amazon Giveaway currently supports two types of giveaway models.</p>
<p>The first giveaway type is a first-come, first-serve model, in which prizes are awarded to the first set number of eligible entrants. This type of giveaway encourages consumers to respond quickly, as the giveaway ends when all prized are claimed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>On the other hand, the second giveaway type awards prizes to &ldquo;lucky number&rdquo; entrants. With this model, the host can select a lucky number, such as three, and the promotion will award the giveaway prize to every third entrant until all prizes are claimed. This model will likely last longer and generate more awareness for brands.</p>
<p>(It is important to note that hosts select their model type during the giveaway setup, and can reward as many as 50 prizes per giveaway with a total value of up to $5,000.)</p>
<p><img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/amazongiveawaytype.png" width="630" height="150" alt="" /></p>
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<h2>3. Giveaways Can Increase Twitter Follows</h2>
<p>For brands, one of the best features of Amazon Giveaway is the fact that users can require entrants to follow their Twitter handle. This feature is particularly helpful for the lucky number giveaway model, as it can help brands not only generate awareness on the social network, but also grow their social following.</p>
<p><img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/Amazongiveawaystwitterfollow.png" width="630" height="100" alt="" /></p>
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<h2>4. The Cost</h2>
<p>Perhaps the best thing about Amazon Giveaway is that it is free. In fact, hosts are only required to purchase the prizes at the price on Amazon.com, as well as pay for sales tax and shipping to winners.</p>
<p>Hosts should keep in mind, however, that since the locations of the winners are not known during the giveaway setup, hosts are charged an &ldquo;estimated amount&rdquo; to cover sales tax and shipping. That said, hosts are refunded any excess after the giveaway ends. Plus, if prizes are unclaimed when the giveaway ends, the prizes will be returned with that money being included in the host&rsquo;s refund.</p>
<p><img style="vertical-align:middle;margin:5px;" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/amazongiveawaycost.png" width="630" height="80" alt="" /></p>
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<h2>5. How to Promote</h2>
<p>Once the setup of a giveaway is complete, hosts will receive a unique link that they can share with their audiences. This link can be promoted in social media, email, on blogs and websites, on posters, as a QR code and even in text messages.</p>
<p>Also, Amazon has taken steps to prevent consumers from entering giveaways more than once, as the company only allows one entry per Amazon.com account and one per Twitter account in cases where consumers are required to follow a brand to enter.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>First GIVEAWAY Beats by Dre (headphones)
Enter for a chance to win! <a href="http://t.co/5dwsPh6qiN">http://t.co/5dwsPh6qiN</a>
Follow + RT - Ends Feb. 17th
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amazongiveaway?src=hash">#amazongiveaway</a></p>
&mdash; Shout (@shouttheapp) <a href="https://twitter.com/shouttheapp/status/565256850707591168">February 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<hr /><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/aggbug.aspx?PostID=40919" width="1" height="1">amazonpromotionswmfeaturewm-socialmediagiveawaysAmazon Giveaway3 Takeaways from Hilton's Vacationitis Campaignhttp://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2013/01/15/3-takeaways-from-hilton-s-vacationitis-campaign.aspxTue, 15 Jan 2013 19:30:00 GMT1e469e21-c924-44fa-a132-47b5d0a8ad47:22860Amberly Dressler1http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=22860http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2013/01/15/3-takeaways-from-hilton-s-vacationitis-campaign.aspx#comments<p><b>Does your advertising campaign need some housekeeping? Take
a page from Hilton Hotels &amp; Resorts newest promotion, the Any Weekend,
Anywhere Sale.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You may have heard Hilton&rsquo;s radio spots promoting its campaign.
Similar to prescription-drug commercials that detail long lists of side effects,
Hilton humorously tells listeners not to operate heavy machinery on their
weekend getaway unless it&rsquo;s a golf cart because that would be awesome. They
also joke if you are pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant than you really,
really need a weekend getaway.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This same satire fueled the recent launch of <a href="http://www.vacationcarecenter.hilton.com/" target="_blank">Hilton Urgent
Vacation Care Center</a>,
an interactive website featuring personal diagnoses of vacation needs and
customized prescriptions urging people to take breaks, weekend getaways and
longer vacations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While Web workers can certainly use some time away from the
computer screen, it&rsquo;s Hilton&rsquo;s innovate engagement tactics and consistent
marketing collateral that should catch their attention. Here are three terrific takeaways from Hilton&rsquo;s advertising campaign:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Surveys<br />
</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Short and fun surveys are a surefire way to build customer engagement
with your brand. Everyone loves to kill a few minutes answering questions about
the last time they took a vacation, their commute and other easy-to-answer
questions about themselves. Brainstorm surveys that would interest your
customer base. Like Hilton, include a quick form to gather people&rsquo;s names,
email and physical addresses and newsletter preferences. Make sure to send
these new email subscribers a custom email message to relate to how they signed
up. You can use this list to target them further in the future as well. <br />
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Giveaways</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Everyone loves getting something for free. As part of Hilton&rsquo;s
campaign promotion, it is offering a chance to win one of 15 weekend getaways
between now and Feb. 28, 2013. While many &lsquo;Net enterprises cannot afford to
give away such a valuable prize, companies can get creative with prizes and how
they run them. Use what you already have (e.g. extra inventory, a service you
can offer for free for a month, etc.). Another way of offering a more valuable
prize, is by teaming up with a complementary company - a digital gift basket, if you will.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Shareability</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Speaking of teaming up, Hilton partnered with Onion Labs,
the in-house creative team of The Onion, to develop humorous illustrations to
run alongside each Vacationitis symptom including &ldquo;Straight to Voicemailaria.&rdquo; &nbsp;These memes can be shared on social media
platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Every digital part of your
advertising campaign should offer built-in shareable features.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img height="300" width="700" src="http://www.websitemagazine.com/images/blog/Retinal_HR.jpg" style="vertical-align:middle;border:1px solid black;margin:5px;" alt="" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
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